Pirates scorch Bearcats

Nate Montgomery finished with a 25-point, 14-rebound performance from down low and the Whitworth men’s basketball team toppled Willamette 95-76 in Northwest Conference action Saturday at Salem, Ore.

In addition to Montgomery’s dominance in the paint, David Riley added 22 points on 5-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc in the Pirates’ seventh consecutive win. The Pirates (8-2, 1-0) jumped out quickly against the Bearcats (3-7, 0-1) in both halves, scoring the first 11 points in the first quarter and leading with an 8-2 run in the third.

Whitworth shot 16 of 32 from 3-point range in the game.

•Led by 24 points from Renado Parker and 16 from Taylor Stevens, North Idaho (14-2) knocked off the Idaho All-Stars 102-72 at Coeur d’Alene.

After the All-Stars trailed by eight in the first half thanks to 10 made 3-pointers, NIC took control in the second, scoring 53 points on 46.2 percent shooting from the floor and 13-of-13 shooting from the free-throw line.

Women’s basketball

Whitworth (5-5, 1-0 Northwest Conference) shot just 25.8 percent from the field, including 17.6 percent in the first half, but took advantage of 25 Willamette (2-8, 0-1) turnovers to pull out a 56-46 win at Salem, Ore.

With a two-point lead at the end of the first half, the Pirates extended their advantage in the opening six minutes of the third quarter with a 9-0 run, led by Cassie Pilkinton – who finished the game with a double-double – scoring 10 points to go along with 10 rebounds.

•Kama Griffitts finished with a game-high 22 points and North Idaho (13-2) dumped Big Bend CC (7-5) 71-62 at Moses Lake.

The Cardinals shot 53 percent from the field for the game, and hit five of their first 9 shots from beyond the arc.

Dana Bates led BBCC with 16 points. BBCC hit just 18 of 57 from the field.